The single biggest reason juniors lose interest in golf is playing courses that are too long for them. The fix is simple: pick yardages that match your junior's actual driver distance, not their age, gender, or what tees a parent or sibling plays. Here's how to do that. The driver-distance calculation The simplest, most reliable way to pick tees: Driver carry distance × 28 = appropriate course yardage So a junior who carries the driver: - 100 yards → ~2,800-yard course - 140 yards → ~3,920-yard course - 170 yards → ~4,760-yard course - 200 yards → ~5,600-yard course - 230 yards → ~6,440-yard course - 250 yards → ~7,000-yard course Look at the scorecard, find the tee set closest to that yardage, and play it. If no tees are short enough, move forward. Why this matters The USGA's research on forward tees found that most adult forward tees in the U.S. are around 4,952 yards. That's appropriate for an adult who drives the ball about 175 yards — but for a junior who carries 130 yards, every par 4 becomes a 3-shot hole reachable only with a 5-iron approach. Result: the round is exhausting, repetitive, and discouraging. The right yardage produces variety. A junior should be able to hit a mix of clubs into greens — sometimes wedge, sometimes 7-iron, sometimes hybrid — with a realistic chance of par on most holes. The Longleaf Tee System US Kids Golf and the American Society of Golf Course Architects Foundation jointly developed the Longleaf Tee System specifically for this problem. Many junior-friendly courses now offer Longleaf-aligned tees: scaled tee markers (often colored, sometimes plates in the fairway) at multiple distances shorter than traditional forward tees. If your home course has Longleaf tees: use them. If it doesn't: ask the pro shop. Many courses will install them on request because they help juniors and shorter-hitting adults play the course more enjoyably. For very young juniors (under 100-yard driver) If your junior is under 100 yards with a driver, no traditional tee will fit. This is where parents become caddies. Two options: 1. The Rule of 36 — for each hole, divide the front-tee yardage by your junior's "course factor." A junior with a 90-yard driver should play a 380-yard par 4 from about 190 yards out. Drop a ball, mark a temporary tee, and let them play. 2. Operation 36 — start every hole at 25 yards from the green. Goal: shoot 36 (par) for 9 holes. Pass that and move back to 50 yards. Then 100. Then 150. Then forward tees. This produces well-rounded short games and clear progression. When to move back Signs your junior is ready for the next set of tees: - Consistently shooting under their target score for the current tees (typically par or better for the round) - Hitting wedge or short iron into most par 4 greens - Outdriving the par 3s with mid-irons that don't hold the green - Fully reaching par 5s in 2 The goal at every yardage is for *most* greens in regulation to be reachable with a club between 6-iron and pitching wedge. If most approaches are wedges, move back. If most approaches are hybrids and woods, move up. The cost of getting this wrong Junior golfers playing tees that are too long develop one of two bad patterns: they top the ball trying to muscle long shots, or they pick up after enough disasters and stop caring about score. Either way, it slows development. Pick tees that produce real, scoreable golf, and let the course earn its difficulty as their distance grows.
Last verified: 2026-04-27